A beverage made up of coffee and a small amount of cream or coffee cream, is popular in many markets. The beverage has a deep brown color which is ordinarily characteristic of a dominant coffee flavor but the beverage has a creamy mouthfeel. This beverage may be reproduced using soluble coffee powder but liquid cream or milk must be added. However it would be more convenient for many consumers if the entire beverage may be produced from a soluble beverage powder.
It is of course possible to merely mix together a soluble coffee powder and an appropriate creamer powder to provide a soluble beverage powder having the coffee and creamer in the correct proportions. However, the soluble beverage powder obtained does not provide an acceptable solution. In particular, the soluble coffee powder and the creamer powder are prone to separate to some extent during storage. Therefore it is difficult to ensure that the soluble beverage powder is completely homogeneous. Also the soluble beverage powder does not have a homogeneous color. Further, upon reconstitution, the milk proteins in the creamer tend to flocculate and this severely affects consumer perception of the product.
Further, it is not possible to produce an acceptable product by simply mixing together a liquid creamer and a coffee extract and then drying the mixture to powder. Although the powder obtained will be homogeneous, when reconstituted, flocculated milk proteins are very visible in the beverage obtained. The flocculated milk proteins severely affect consumer acceptability. The problem of flocculation of the milk proteins in coffee beverages has been satisfactorily dealt with in U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,733. This patent describes a process in which the milk proteins are subjected to a controlled flocculation step during processing. Subsequently to the controlled flocculation step, the liquid creamer and a small amount of coffee extract are subjected to homogenization and drying to provide a creamer powder. Further soluble coffee powder is then dry mixed in with the creamer powder. After processing in this way, any flocculated milk proteins in the reconstituted beverage are too small to be visible.
However, the soluble beverage powder produced by the process described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,733 is intended to simulate a milky coffee beverage. Hence the total amount of soluble coffee in the soluble beverage powder is relatively small; for example about 15% by weight. The soluble beverage powder, when reconstituted, therefore does not provide a beverage simulating a coffee drink which contains a small amount of cream. Also, although the soluble beverage powder has a much better appearance than a dry mixture of coffee powder and creamer, the creamer powder is lighter than the soluble coffee powder and hence the soluble beverage powder do not have a completely homogeneous color.
Therefore there is a need for a soluble beverage powder which is substantially homogeneous in color and which, upon reconstitution with water, provides a beverage simulating a coffee drink which contains a small amount of cream.